Diabetic Living USA – July 2019

FALL 2019 / DI ABETIC LI VING 3

GUIDE TO ABBREVIATIONS

AADE American Association
of Diabetes Educators
ADA American Diabetes Association
CDE certifi ed diabetes educator
CGM continuous glucose monitor
PWD person with diabetes
PWDs people with diabetes
RD/RDN registered dietitian/
registered dietitian nutritionist

Editor’s Letter

CONNECT WITH US!

Facebook

@diabeticliving


 Instagram

@diabeticlivingmag

Yours in health,

[email protected]

Email

[email protected]

 Web

EatingWell.com/DiabeticLiving

PHOTO SARA RUBINSTEIN

I was in college, and just gett ing used

to spending time in the kitchen. I

had a few hand-me-down cookbooks

and a basic set of pots and pans, but I

didn’t really know what I was doing.

I felt lost without a recipe, I certainly

wasn’t comfortable with a knife, and

most of the dishes I was making

involved litt le more than following

package directions and opening a jar

of sauce.

Th en one aft ernoon I swung by

my friend Sahar’s apartment. I for-

get what I stopped by for, but I do

remember the moment I walked in.

“Oh I’ll be just a minute,” she said

from her kitchen. I watched as she

oh-so-casually seasoned chicken

breasts, placed them in a roasting pan,

and slid the pan into the oven. Th ere

was no cookbook in sight, not even

a sticky note with an oven temp or

cooking time. “I’m just gett ing these

started for dinner,” she said, probably

in response to my gaping stare.

It was a life-changing moment for

me: I was shocked to see someone my

age with so much culinary know-how.

And I immediately wanted it myself:

I wanted to be able to cook a broader

range of recipes, know my favorites by

heart, and become as comfortable in

my kitchen as Sahar seemed in hers.

It took me a number of years, but I

eventually got there. I started reading

cookbooks, asking questions, trying

new ingredients and techniques and

cuisines. I had some fails, but I had

many more major wins. And I real-

ized that, as my confi dence grew, not

only was I making bett er food, but I

was enjoying the process.

Th e food stories in this issue are

all about building confi dence. We

started with the topic we know is on

your mind the most: carbs (p. 44).

We sourced a panel of experts living

with diabetes to answer every ques-

tion we’re hearing from you (and

I remember the moment I decided I

would become a confi dent cook.

many that we had ourselves). We

also devoted our Money department

to food this issue, with a roundup

of tips to help you become a savvier

grocery shopper (p. 18).

In our Nourish section, we focus

on fl avors both familiar and foreign,

to help you expand the number and

type of recipes you know how to

cook. We pulled in the experts here

as well: Grace Young is known as the

“Stir-Fry Guru” and there is no bett er

person to teach you (and me) how to

make Chinese food at home. (She’s

also great at reminding us to laugh

in the kitchenlook up her “Wok

Th erapist” video on YouTube.) San-

dra Gutierrez is an expert in Latin

American cuisine and a seasoned

cooking instructor who’s writt en sev-

eral Latin American cookbooks. And

Amy Riolo is a Mediterranean expert

and the author of the Mediterranean

Diabetes Cookbook and the Italian Di-

abetes Cookbook. You can fi nd their

recipes starting on page 60.

If you need some confi dence in-

spiration, look to our 2019 Diabetes

Champions (p. 50). All fi ve have

worked hard to overcome their own

diabetes challengesand now help

other PWDs do the same.

My hope is that these recipes

and stories help you take at least one

confi dent step forwardwhether

that’s bett er understanding carbs in

the foods you eat or deciding to try a

new recipe every Th ursday night. If

they do, please let me know. Because

nothing would delight me more

than knowing that this issue inspired

someone the way that, way back

when, my friend Sahar inspired me.